In situ cues for ADHD parenting strategies using mobile technology

Abstract

Parenting is always demanding, but families coping with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as ADHD, experience unique challenges. To address these challenges, research in the area of Parental Behavioral Therapy is accelerating. This type of therapy focuses on behavioral strategies that, if practiced regularly, can have a positive impact on the child's long-term behavior, as well as a reduction in parental stress. While these strategies are simple, there are hurdles to putting them into practice. First, parents often struggle with their own---often-undiagnosed---mental health challenges. Second, due to the needs of their children, parents are under immense stress in addition to regular, daily life stresses. Our work explores how to monitor parental stress and offers in situ support to remind parents of behavioral strategies to practice in moments of duress. We gained insight into how to design for the dynamics of families with ADHD children by using a prototype of our system as a probe. Our goal was to bring to the forefront simple strategies that can positively impact family ties and enhance the wellbeing of the child. We present results that suggest that when interventions are cued during moments of duress, technology might prove useful in supporting behavioral therapy.